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Biology 101 essay 6-8 pages see attached file for full details
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Running head: ECOSYSTEM
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Energy flow in the ecosystem
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ECOSYSTEM
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Photosynthesis
This is the process by which algae, plants and certain bacteria use energy from sunlight
and later convert it into chemical energy. There are different forms of photosynthesis which
include: non-oxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis.
Oxygenic is the most common because it is seen in many types of plants like algae, green plants
and cyanobacteria.
Process of oxygenic photosynthesis
During oxygenic photosynthesis, energy from light transfers electrons to carbon dioxide
from water which produces carbohydrates. During this process water becomes oxidized while
carbon dioxide is reduced (Hilborn 2011) . This leads to the production of oxygen along with
carbohydrates. This process is taken as a counterbalance to respiration. It takes in the carbon
dioxide which has been released into the environment and introduces oxygen into the
atmosphere. This process helps in maintaining the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere which
would have depleted within thousands of years without recycling.
Process of an oxygenic
This process uses electron donors apart from water. This mainly occurs in bacteria such
as green sulfur and purple bacteria. This type of process does not produce oxygen. An oxygenic
photosynthesis sometimes uses bad smelling eggs which produce hydrogen sulfide and then
produces a byproduct called solid sulfur. Though these two types of process are complex, it can
be summarized with an equation. In the equation six molecules of co2 combine with twelve
molecules of water with the help of light energy. The final products are a single carbohydrate
molecule and six molecules of oxygen and water.
Photosynthetic apparatus
ECOSYSTEM
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Pigments
These are molecules whose main function is to bestow the color of algae, plants and
bacteria. They can also help in trapping sunlight effectively. There are different pigments which
are used in the absorption of different wavelengths. They are classified into three main groups.
Chlorophyll
The green coloring pigments are used in trapping red and blue light. They are then
subdivided into three subgroups such as; chlorophyll c, chlorophyll b, and chlorophyll a. Type is
found in photosynthes...